‘Herald’ printers resume

Press, 1 February 1988, Page 6

‘Herald’ printers resume

PA Auckland Work at the “New Zealand Herald” newspaper returned to normal yesterday after discussions between the management, the Printers’ Union and staff.

The newspaper will be published today as usual. Mr Rex Bridgford, the deputy general manager of Wilson and Horton, Ltd, publishers of the “Herald,” said yesterday the newspaper did not appear on Saturday morning after some of the composing room staff walked out on Friday and the remaining

composing room staff were suspended when they refused to do normal work..

The dispute was related to a breakdown of discussions over the national printers’ award. The president of the Printers’ Union, Mr Alan Ryan, said three attempts to begin talks on the award had failed when employers refused to nominate a negotiating panel. The printers’ problems began when they entered separate discussions with Independent Newspapers,

Ltd, last August. 1.N.L., owner of six of the country’s daily newspapers, wanted to establish a separate agreement for its printers to allow for the introduction of new technology.

Discussions on an I.N.L. deal were well advanced when the union decided it wanted the agreement attached to the award.

But the Newspaper Publishers’ Association, representing the other main newspaper employer groups, refused to accept that a technology deal with I.N.L. or any

other company should be attached as a schedule to the national award. The result was a stalemate.

The employers’ advocate and N.P.A. executive director, Mr Patrick Greene, has said if the union was prepared to separate out 1.N.L., and negotiate a deal with them, negotiations on the national award could begin.

But the N.P.A. was not prepared to have an I.N.L. technology agreement as a schedule to the award, he said.